When you turn sixty, there’s a fair bit to look back on.

I started remembering people and places, and things from growing up. Some I hadn’t thought about for years. Others had never really left me. I was thinking about the way life was then, and the way I see it now.

It wasn’t a song at first. It was just a story from my life that I wanted to put into words. And I thought, if I don’t tell these stories, who’s going to hear them?

So I started jotting a few things down. Words, memories, things I wanted to say. A few lines became a few more, and before long, I had some lyrics. I didn’t know how to make the music, but with a little help from AI, I found a way to turn those words into a song.

Listening back to it was something else. I could hear my own memories in it. Things I’d carried around for years were suddenly there, in a way I could share with someone else.

That’s where Silent Reef began.

I write every lyric myself. They come from my own stories, feelings and experiences.

Along the way, I started imagining the people who might bring these songs to life. I gave them faces and personalities, and those six became Silent Reef—the band I pictured in my mind.

They come from my imagination, but the words, memories and feelings behind the songs come from my life.

I’m not chasing fame or a fortune. It’s a hobby, something I do because I love it. It gives me a way to express things I might not otherwise know how to say.

This is my quiet time.

When no one’s around, I can sit with my own thoughts, remember things and reflect on life. That’s when the words come. I give myself a bit of time and see where they take me.

It all starts in my own mind. The memories, the feelings, the imagination. For me, this is my imagination working at its best, and I love having that time to myself.

And if someone hears a song and remembers a person, a place, or a little piece of their own life, then I’m glad I put those words down.